ICC confirms notification of WICB decision on Samuels

Dubai, May 13 (UNI) The ICC today confirmed notification of the decision of the West Indies Cricket Board's (WICB) Disciplinary Committee concerning an investigation into its player Marlon Samuels.

The batsman was found guilty of offence C 4 (ix) of the ICC Code of Conduct, namely that he ''received any money, benefit or other reward (whether financial or otherwise) which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute.'' The penalty for being found guilty of this offence is a minimum two-year ban. In this instance the judgment handed down by the WICB Disciplinary Committee is that the ban is effective from May 9, the date of the hearing which took place in St Lucia.

''We thank the WICB for completing its enquiry into the matter culminating with the Disciplinary Committee meeting on May 9,'' ICC acting Chief Executive Officer David Richardson said while reacting to the decision. ''We are yet to see the whole judgment to put the matter of the punishment into its proper context but we note the WICB Disciplinary Committee found the player guilty and has imposed an immediate ban.'' ''In terms of the punishment handed down, minimum penalties were agreed by the ICC Board, including all Full Members, and they reflect the seriousness of the issues at hand,'' he added.

''Corruption is a serious matter, dealing with it effectively is fundamental to the integrity of our sport and this matter is a demonstration that its threat has not gone away.

''It is never pleasant when a player is banned but the process in arriving at this point has been an extremely thorough one and we hope the case serves as a reminder to players and officials to remain vigilant,'' he said.

Any ban would include Official cricket (Tests, ODIs, T20Is, first-class matches and List A matches organized by or under the auspices of the ICC or its Members) and Unofficial Cricket (cricket within an ICC Member not falling into the above categories that is granted approval by either the ICC or the relevant Board).

The matter investigated took place during the West Indies' tour of India in January last year and the process to arrive at this point began with an ACSU investigation and report following allegations the player had passed on match information ahead of the ODI in Nagpur on January 21 and then received payment for a hotel stay in Mumbai at the end of the tour.

That report was reviewed by Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission Hon. Michael Beloff QC, his review went before the ICC Board at its October 2007 meeting and the Board instructed the WICB to carry out its own investigation and convene a Disciplinary Committee to ascertain the player's guilt or otherwise.

An Official Enquiry made up of Mr Beloff and two other ICC Code of Conduct Commissioners will review the WICB Disciplinary Committee finding to ascertain whether the punishment is sufficient and make any recommendation necessary to the ICC Board's meeting here in July.